


Meeting Liam

by wishicouldbeliamsfriend



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Fluff and Smut, M/M, True Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-04
Updated: 2014-04-13
Packaged: 2018-01-18 04:27:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1415080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wishicouldbeliamsfriend/pseuds/wishicouldbeliamsfriend
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Liam and Danielle have been arguing, but he still loves her. Then he meets a medic at a concert, and everything changes. Fluff and smut get all over your face.</p><p>**Work in progress, this is a very long fic!**</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chance

**Author's Note:**

> My tumbr: wishicouldbeliamsfriend.tumblr.com
> 
> This is a re-edit of a fic I originally posted a while back but not on AO3. I'd love your feedback/ideas/thoughts.
> 
> Thanks!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ethan and Sam work medical at a 1D gig. Something goes wrong.

The obstinate bleeping noise of my alarm penetrated my sleepy stupor and made me sigh sadly. I wasn’t ready to wake up just yet.

I’d had a bit of a late night, but sadly not for any exciting reason, I just couldn’t sleep until about four in the morning – so even my normal noon wakeup call was sounding challenging. Without bothering to open my eyes, I rolled over to face my side table and slapped at where my phone should be to turn it off, but succeeded only in knocking it to the floor in the process. Wonderful.

Reluctantly, I blinked my sandy, tired eyes open and took in my somewhat blurry surroundings. The sun was out in force, streaming in under the half-closed blind on my window. The alarm on my phone had survived falling off the table and was still making an ungodly noise, so I sighed with resignation and rolled over. I reached down under the bed and started pawing at the carpet, hoping to scoop my phone back up. After a few frustrating seconds I felt it under my fingertips and scrabbled to get a grip of it. “Shut the hell up!” I yelled at it as I picked it up from the floor. I jabbed at the screen until the alarm turned off. Ahhh, blissful silence.

I was about to throw it back on the table and try to go back to sleep – getting up when my alarm sounds would be an unprecedented step towards adulthood and maturity, one which I wasn’t ready to make. Then I noticed the new message icon blinking on the screen, and curiosity got the better of me. I flicked the message open and squinted to read it.

From: Sam – “Mate are you picking me up at 12 still?” – 1206.

Shit.

I jumped out of bed and ran towards the shower. Or should I say tried to run - I tripped over my left foot near the doorway. I fell to my knees and smacked my head off the edge of the radiator. “Fuck!” I yelped and clutched my head where the stabbing pain was. I touched the spot with my fingers then looked at them. There was no blood, so I grumbled but got to my feet. It only took ten minutes to get a shower and get dressed in my uniform, so I managed to wolf down some cereal before bolting out of the door and into the car.

I’m a volunteer working as a medic at events in the city and I had forgotten that I agreed to cover some concert or other today. In fairness I was covering for someone else, and it had been organised last minute so wasn’t in my calendar. Totes not my fault. Now I remembered I was supposed to be picking up my duty partner Sam from his flat to take him to the arena.

It only took me about ten minutes to get to his place, but as I approached and pulled over in front of his building I saw him scowling and rolling his eyes, I was late once again. He climbed in and threw his kit bag over the seat into the back, then glared at me pointedly, one eyebrow raised.

“Sam I’m so sorry, I forgot all about this shift, I only woke up at my normal time.” I grovelled.

He just chuckled and said “Don’t worry, we’ll be fine. Just drive fast. Well, safely but fastish.”

I grinned and ruffled his hair as I set off down the motorway to the arena. We pulled into the staff car park at 1pm, just in time to rush in and sign the logbook. We grabbed our gear from the cage and stepped out onto the concourse as our manager walked in. Margaret had been there for ages, and even though technically she was in charge, she never had to shout, everyone just thought of her like an Auntie. 

“Hey boss, Sam and I are here and kitted up, where do you need us?” I asked.

“Hey sweeties!” she pulled me into a hug, then Sam “Listen I’ll brief you properly later but for now can you go set up the medical posts for me?”

“Sure love, see you soon.” Sam said and we made our way into the stadium.

Sam and I spent the next few hours getting set up. We have a spot on either side of the stage so that we’re out of the way of the crowd. It’s got seats and all the supplies we need, but there’s a larger medical centre outside on the concourse for more severe injuries. We stocked everything up and got all the equipment ready, then we had a nose round about the stage, it was always interesting to see all the instruments and equipment the band had. Speaking of, I didn’t actually know who was playing. I was about to ask Sam if he knew when the radio on my shoulder bleeped and Mags called everyone back to the medical post stage left for a briefing. Everyone huddled round to listen as she explained the event.

“Thanks for coming in everyone, I know it’s a long day for us but we really do appreciate it, and the management have said that you can all help yourselves to anything at the cafés or the bar, just no booze!” she wagged her finger and everyone groaned in mock protest.

“Now, I’m too old but apparently these guys are really big, they’re called One Direction. Mostly attract a young, predominantly female demographic, so be aware of that and remember to be friendly even if you’re stressed. Dave, Martin you’re stage left; Jason and Greg over at stage right please. Karen and Brian you’re roving cover, and Sam and Ethan you’re working the pit and the crush barrier in front of the stage. Alright guys, the band are kicking off at 2.30 and we’ll meet back here around 5pm. Off you go, see you in a few hours.

We picked our kit bags back up and started over to the pit but Margaret put her hand on my shoulder and stopped us. “Be careful today guys, the girls get very excited and tend to press forward so be on the lookout for breathing difficulties, and keep on top of the stewards, they’re there to help you so if you need someone brought over the barrier make them do it.” She smiled kindly and we nodded and left her.

Sam and I sat quietly on the far side of the stage with our kit, watching the thousands of people flood into the stadium. The stewards were doing a good job of keeping them calm and making sure they sat in their allocated seats but even so, there were a lot of girls crowded in at the front. Sam and I swapped nervous glances but minutes later the lights dimmed so Sam nodded to me and we split up. He waited with our kit at the side of the pit so as to stay out of the way, and I was on patrol walking up and down in front of the stage.

“Ladies and gentlemen.” the PA system burst into action. “Please give it up for the boys of One Direction!”

Music started playing and the crowd went nuts, screaming as five boys walked on stage. I guess they were in their late teens or maybe very early twenties. To be honest I couldn’t see what all the fuss was about, they looked like any other 18 year old guys. I turned to give Sam a querying look and he had his mouth hanging open in shock. I raised an eyebrow and looked around, then switched over to a private radio channel. “What’s wrong mate?”

I saw him grab his mic without breaking eye contact with the band on the stage. “It’s fucking One Direction! I thought it was some rap guy today.”

I rolled my eyes and went back to my job, letting Sam fan girl in the corner.

I dealt with quite a few faints and crush injuries as the crowd was very overexcited, but nothing too bad happened. It was mostly just basic treatment then handing them off to the venue stewards to deal with. One or two were referred to the stage side medical post but no ambulances were needed which was always good.

I’ll always remember the moment everything changed. At the time I had no idea how momentous it would be in my life. The band was into the sixth song - “One Thing”, according to the playbook, -and I was quite relaxed but alert, scanning the crowd, and that’s when it happened.

I heard a loud thud from behind me and turned to see the shorter, blonde guy with the guitar fall face first on the stage. “Ooh” I cringed, it looked very nasty. I picked up my radio “Casualty on the stage, please advise tour medical.”

I expected to be told to stand down; usually each tour had their own medical people, sometimes a nurse who look after the band and crew. I waited for the reply over the radio but I heard nothing for a while then a mumbled “Standby.” from control. In other words, they had no idea what to do. As I was waiting, the music died out as the others realised what was happening with their band mate. I started to move to find someone to help when I felt a hand slapping at my shoulder.

I turned and looked up at the stage, where I saw quite possibly the most attractive guy I’d ever seen. He was young, maybe eighteen or so; he had bottomless chocolate brown eyes and amazing spiky hair. He was frantically shaking my shoulder. “Hey, we need help up here, please!” he said, panic on his face.

I could hear the crowd whispering to each other and starting to cry.

“Don’t worry, I’ve called it in, your nurse will be here soon I’m sure.” I said, trying to calm him down and not allow myself to get lost in his eyes. “Maybe you should let the crowd know everything is okay?”

“She called in sick this morning, there’s nobody coming! You have to help us” he pleaded.


	2. Recovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ethan and Sam rescue Niall and get a once in a lifetime invitation.

I blinked several times then looked over at Sam slowly. He was panicking as well, nobody seemed to know what to do, and we’d never dealt with injuries on stage before. Nobody was coming to help us; the others were too far away and there was nothing but confusion on the radio. I waved to Sam to throw our kit bag up on stage, then turned to the boy above me and took his hand, climbing up onto the stage less than gracefully.

I felt a thousand eyes on my back as I grabbed our pack and ran over to the fallen singer, ushering the other boy to follow. Sam pushed his bandmates back “Give us some room please guys.”

I reached the fallen boy and kneeled down next to his head. “Okay I need to know his name?” I asked as calmly as I could.

“It’s Niall, Niall Horan” the dark haired boy stammered, clearly in shock.

“Okay, Niall; can you hear me? My names Ethan, I’m a medic. I need you to answer me please.” I gently shook the blonde at the shoulders but he didn’t respond. I leaned over him carefully, trying to ignore the thousands of people in the crowd watching. I placed my cheek against his mouth and I felt his breath on my face. I sighed with slight relief, the thought of doing CPR on a stage in front of thousands was terrifying; unconsciousness I can deal with!

Sam saw the look of relief on my face and nodded. “Medical post?”

I glanced over but it was way too public. “No let’s find some space backstage somewhere. Call it in will you mate?”

Sam stood up and moved away to get some space to update control. I waved the other guys over and we got an arm or leg each and struggled over the stage to the back stairs. We got him down the stairs with great difficulty, and thankfully Dave had brought a trolley bed round for us. We manhandled him onto it and were about to head off to the dressing room block when I realised the rest of the band were staring expectantly at us. “What?” I asked thickly.

“Should we stop the show??” a curly haired boy asked me.

I looked around at their faces. The dark, skinny guy spoke up, the Bradford twinge evident in his voice. “We can’t go on with Niall out of it.”

“But we don’t want to let the fans down, where’s Simon when you need him?” another one said. They all looked at me for direction. I glanced at Sam who shrugged, baffled.

I sighed and took charge. “Look, he’ll probably be fine; he’s breathing, if he’s not done this before then it’s almost certainly just a faint or undiagnosed diabetes or something similar. It’s hot and he’s not eaten for an hour odds now. I need one of you to come with us to look after him but as far as I’m concerned the rest of you should hold the fort here and continue the show, okay?” I calmly explained the situation to the boys, and their worried faces eased.

“I’ll come with you” said the boy who brought me into this.

“Great, thanks.” I patted his arm. “You” I pointed to the curly haired boy “sorry I don’t know your names. You should make an announcement before you kick off again, tell them he’s going to be okay, that he’s in good hands and you’re going to continue the show. Got it?”

He nodded and returned to the stage with the others as the three of us wheeled Niall into a quiet room backstage. Sam started preparing our equipment and I put my hand on his band-mates’ shoulder. Feeling him shaking, I turned him gently to face me and spoke softly.

“Look at me please. Your friend is going to be fine, I promise. I’m Ethan, this is Sam, we’re medics here at the arena. What’s your name mate?”

“L-, Liam. Payne, Liam Payne.” he stuttered, clearly still scared but starting to calm down.

I rubbed his shoulder soothingly “Okay Liam, does Niall have any allergies, illnesses, recent head injuries anything like that that I need to know about? Does he take any medication?”

Liam thought for a second “Umm, he does have something wrong with his knee. Like a torn ligament or something. If that’s relevant.”

I nodded “Okay that’s fine. Take a seat for me, and try not to worry.” I sat him down in a chair within reach of Niall and I turned back to Sam. He had just taken the boy’s temperature and nodded, it was normal. I continued to try for a response. “Niall? Niall, open your eyes for me buddy.” I said firmly, pressing on his thumbnail to induce pain. He finally started to come round and as soon as he opened his eyes started looking round in a panic, trying to jump up.

Sam shushed him “Shh, it’s okay Niall, we’re medics, you’ve had a bit of a fall, but you’ll be fine. I need you to stay still for me.” he said, gently holding him down.

Niall refused to sit still for much longer so after we were sure the danger had passed we let him up on the chair next to Liam. I gave him some sugary juice which brought some colour back into his cheeks immediately.

I saw Liam breathe a sigh of relief as Niall whined. “Guys I know I should be grateful already but... any food around here?”

Liam sniggered and slapped Niall’s shoulder gently, “that’s our boy”.

We grinned and helped him up before Niall held out his hand to Sam and then myself. “Thanks so much guys, I feel so much better, you’re lifesavers.” He said with an Irish twang.

“No worries mate, just doing our jobs. Now I know you’re going to want to run back on stage and that’s okay, but I insist that you take it easy, okay? I’m sure those screaming girls will understand. If you feel faint or dizzy at all, you must come back to me, promise?” I stressed the last sentence, meaning what I said.

“You got it, I promise.” He said sincerely, touching my arm. “Thanks again lads” he said and walked to the doorway to wait for Liam.

“Thanks so much guys, you were amazing there.” Liam came over and shook our hands, looking relieved and grateful.

I smiled as I shook his hand, “no problem. Take care of him okay? You two seem really nice so I don’t want to hear another thud on this shift!”

Liam grinned, nodding as he turned away, but then he paused and turned back. “Are you two doing anything after the show?” he asked.

I glanced at Sam who gestured no. I shrugged “not really, why?”

“Well, me and the boys would love to buy you both dinner; kind of say thanks personally.”

“Are you kidding? Dinner with One Direction? Oh my god!” Sam started hyperventilating in the corner. I shook my head and sniggered. Liam couldn’t help but chuckle nervously as Sam freaked out.

“So that’s one out of two” he said with a smirk. “How about you Ethan? You’re obviously not a directioner but we’d really love to say thanks”.

I did my best to hold my cool composure as this handsome guy searched my face for an answer. “Well my friends sometimes like to go out on Saturdays, let me call some people. I’ll give you a text soon once I know?”

Liam looked surprised for a moment, he clearly wasn’t used to people saying anything other than yes to his invitations. After a second though he smiled and nodded, scrawling something on a scrap of paper “Sure thing mate, here’s my number.”

As he handed it to me he stepped close to me and whispered “whatever you do, don’t give it to your friend or I’ll never get any peace.”

I patted him on the back, feeling his strong muscles and blushing slightly. “Whatever you say Liam. Now go break those girls’ hearts out there.” I smirked as they left the room.

The second they were gone Sam rushed over and hugged me, speechless, gasping. “Why didn’t you say yes!? It’s One Direction! We are so going to dinner with them. I’m calling everyone I know. I’m calling the newspapers. Holy shit!” he blubbered. I loved watching him go nuts even if it was embarrassing.

“They’re just normal guys Sam. You have eaten dinner before, and I don’t remember you making such a fuss when we first met!” I gave him daggers but paused. “That said I wouldn’t mind scooping up that Liam for desert!” we giggled and sat down and recounted the events.


	3. Dinner out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ethan and Sam have dinner with the boys.

The rest of the show went by more or less without incident. We went back to our positions in front of the stage, and the guys said some lovely words about us before carrying on the show.

Afterwards, once the fans were out and we had debriefed, I took a deep breath and texted Liam. “We’d love to have dinner with you guys, when and where? – Ethan”

I pressed send and immediately regretted it. He was never going to respond, he’d probably forgotten all about us already. He just felt pressured because we were there in front of him. I shrugged it off as something to fantasise about later, and drove back to my place with Sam to get a quiet takeaway dinner and watch some TV.

We’d barely gotten in the door when my phone started vibrating in my pocket. I checked the screen and saw a new message. “hey Ethan, that’s great bud can’t wait to see you. we don’t know this city, we were going to invite you to eat in our hotel unless you can suggest something better? Liam P”

Sam was reading over my shoulder. “OOOOOOOOOOHMYGOD you just got a text from Liam Payne!” he squealed, bouncing around the room again. He came rushing back over and hugged me, trying to stay calm but not doing well.

I smiled back at him, “You’re such a kid Sam. Where do you think we should eat? That Italian place near the cinema is good. Will I just say that?”

Sam rolled his eyes at me “like anywhere would be good enough to take One Direction. But I suppose it’s a start, do it.” he said, buzzing like a little puppy.

“Well there’s a great Italian place I know in town “Di Maggiona”, I can pick you up if you don’t mind sharing a car with Sam, or you could meet us? Maybe in an hour?”

I must have made so many spelling mistakes with my fingers slipping over the buttons but I didn’t care, I was so excited about meeting Liam again. I kind of felt bad that I wasn’t more interested in the others but I genuinely just wasn’t aware of who they were until today. I guess I’ll find out all about them at dinner, and I did enjoy what I heard of their music so that was something.

My phone buzzed again. “Love Italian, we’ll meet you there at 8!”

I grinned and resisted the urge to text back, still trying to play it cool. “Sam we’re eating with your idols at eight.”

He went nuts again. “Okay, we need showers. And clothes. No, deodorant first. No, aftershave. We need to be perfect, we’re meeting one direction for christ’s sake!!” he ran from room to room in my apartment getting ready. I just shook my head and quietly got dressed and freshened up.

\---

We pulled up opposite the restaurant and peered through the window, no sign of them. Maybe they were running late. Sam led the way in and was greeted by the waiter. “Table for how many sir?”

“Um, seven, please, they’re just running a little late I guess..” Sam replied uncertainly, looking round the restaurant.

The waiter flashed a knowing smile and led us through to the very back of the restaurant and into a private room. As he opened the door Sam started gushing. “Jesus you’re really here!” he ran in and jumped on the first of the boys he saw, hugging him like he was a giant teddy bear. The dark haired boy looked taken aback at first but he smiled and patted Sam on the back.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Louis.” He said cautiously.

Sam stepped back looking embarrassed, mumbling “Nice to meet you too.”

I introduced us to everyone, and they shook our hands in turn. I got to Liam and went red again, he was so hot. “Nice seeing you again Liam. Niall; are you feeling okay?” I turned to him and saw him already stuffing his face with bread sticks, grinning cheerily and giving me the thumbs up.

The other boys shook their heads in exasperation before gesturing for us to sit down. The waiter took our order and disappeared to the kitchens somewhere.

“So Ethan, Li tells us you saved Niall’s life today!” Harry piped up excitedly.

I glared at Liam who was pretending to look elsewhere but grinning widely. “It was nothing like that, as Liam well knows. Niall just had a bit of a tumble that’s all, we deal with it all the time. Your fans had worse today; one girl almost got trampled, she was a mess.”

The guys all looked up with concern at hearing this. “Is she okay?”

“Yeah she’s fine, just a bit bumped and bruised. I just meant that you really didn’t have to have dinner with us, we’re just doing our jobs!” I said shyly.

Zayn patted me on the back “Nonsense mate, its the least we can do, and it’s always nice to meet nice people. Especially, how can I put it… ‘normal’ guys. You know, outside the showbiz bubble? “

I shrugged and nodded understandingly, and he continued. “Now I gather Sam here is a fan. Um, don’t think me big-headed but do you really not like our music?” he asked, looking disappointed.

“Oh I never said I didn’t like it; in fact given what I heard from down at the barrier you make great music. What I said was that I’m not a fan, I’d never heard you before today.” I explained hastily.

Liam pushed Zayn back so he could rest his elbows on the table. “Ignore him Ethan, he doesn’t mean it. Its kind of nice actually to meet a non-fan, you’re a bit more calm.” At this point everyone turned to look at Sam who had been squirming around like he needed to pee since we arrived. We laughed as dinner arrived and we tucked in.

I kept catching Liam’s eye over my pasta, his smile was infectious. I stopped and looked around. “You know, you’re all really good looking; where are your girlfriends?” I asked cheerily.

Liam explained that he was with a girl he met on X factor, Danielle, who was in London. Louis said that Eleanor was in the states working. The other three boys were single. My heart sank a little as I realised Liam was with someone, that was my typical luck. I sighed to myself. Still, I thought, he was way out of my league anyway. And he’s still a nice guy, maybe we can be friends.

A bit later, we finished our delicious meal and I pulled out my wallet instinctively, but Harry leaned over and playfully slapped my hand. “Hey, this is on us, lifesavers.”

I went red again, I kept doing that. “Thanks Haz, appreciate it.” Sam nodded nervously. “Listen, I think Sam and I had better go. I’m sure you’ve got practice or whatever and we don’t want to keep you up, I know you’re playing again tomorrow.” I said politely.

Sam shot me an evil look (how dare I shorten this experience for him?!) which Niall caught and laughed. “We’re not kids mate, its only 9. Look we’d love to go for a few drinks with you both but on a gig night we really can’t risk it, we’d end up with hundreds of fans hassling you. So I guess, raincheck?”

Sam piped up “Yeah, another time, I’m just really glad to have met you. I don’t want to be a total fangirl but could I get a photo with you? Or an autograph or something? I promise I won’t tweet it till later!” he said, looking sheepish.

“Of course you can mate.” Zayn said and the lads happily crowded over to take a picture. I took Sam’s phone and snapped a few shots, before handing it back. They looked expectantly at me.

“What?” I asked.

Liam looked around at the others. “Don’t you want a photo too?”

I hesitated and Liam frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing.” I scratched the back of my neck nervously. “I just… you know, you’re great guys and I’ve had a lot of fun. I’d love to get to know you better. But I don’t think of you as people I want a photo with, you know? I’m not that kind of fan I guess.” I cringed, that wasn’t how I meant it to come out. I just didn’t want to be disingenuous.

They all looked a bit taken aback but Niall nodded. “That’s, pretty cool mate.” he gestured to the others “Nobody’s said that before. I guess now we know you’re for real.”

I shrugged quietly and smiled, hoping that was okay. They all signed a napkin for me anyway. “Give it to your sister or something, she’ll love ya!” Louis said as he handed it to me.

“Thanks guys. We’ll leave you to it. Give me a text next time you’re in Glasgow; would be great to hang out with you again. Maybe go out if its safe.” I gently pushed my chair under the table.

They nodded and we all exchanged numbers, even with Sam once they got him to promise to keep it secret. We had hugs all round and I eventually had to prise Sam off of Harry who he was wrapped round tight. I gently manhandled him out of the room but almost tripped over my shoelace. I tossed Sam the car keys and bent over to tie it. Just as I stood up again I felt a hand on my back. I turned to see Liam behind me. “Oh hey, what’s up?”

Liam looked down at his feet “Um, listen I didn’t wanna say this in front of your mate, he’s kinda too into us already. But I wondered if you might want to come back to the hotel with us for a bit. That way, if any of us drink too much you can rescue us” he said, blushing.

I smiled “Alright, but only if I get to speak to you alone once we get there. Deal?”

He nodded and I waited as the boys settled the bill. We were walking to the car, heads down to avoid any recognition, when I remembered Sam. “Shit I need to take Sam home.” I said, disappointed.

Liam chewed his lip for a second then looked around. He crossed the road and stuck his arm out to hail a cab, handing over £50 to the driver and asking him to wait a minute. He held the door open as I spoke to Sam.

“Uhh, listen Sammy, the boys… they asked me if I wanted… I mean it’s not that they don’t want to hang with you but” I stammered as I tried to find the right words.

Sam shushed me “It’s alright Eth, I see the way you and Liam look at each other. Am I jealous? Yes. Am I happy for you more? Definitely.” he smiled and gave me a tight hug, blew a kiss to Liam and climbed into the taxi. I watched him drive away, kind of guilty that he wasn’t coming with me.

“Shall we?” Liam asked quietly, closer than I had realised.

I met his gaze “Yeah.”

He led me over to their luxury minivan thing that they took everywhere. The others were already inside waiting for us, so I climbed in and sat next to Harry. I raised my eyebrow as I saw Louis put his hand on Harry’s thigh with a grin.

“They’re not lovers, honestly.” Zayn said helpfully “Just very close friends.”

I nodded sarcastically as we sped off to the hotel.

**Author's Note:**

> Work in progress, this is a very long fic!


End file.
